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 Product Catalog > Bikes / Frames > Tandem Bicycles Mongoose Wanderer AL Tandem Bike (26-Inch Wheels) By: Mongoose Average Rating: 3.5 Total Reviews: 5 Features:
Dimensions: Length: 0.88" Width: 0.22" Height: 0.42" Product Description: Mongoose R5006 -Blue frame with black tires. -Oversized 7005 aluminum tandem bike frame. -SRAM-40 21 speed shifters . -SRAM 4.0 rear derailleur . -Accomodates 2 riders. -Mega range freewheel with overdrive . -Alloy linear pull brakes. -Mongoose brand MTB riser bar stem. Where to Buy
Reviews Good frame, parts are just OK  by: on: 29-Sep 2009 The Mongoose Wanderer AL tandem has a good oversized aluminum frame. The same frame is sold in steel under the "Pacific" brand name. Assuming that the frame fits you and your partner, I doubt you'll find a better frame even if you pay far more. The frame is light and feels solid. The steel fork and components are inexpensive but serviceable. You'll have to take the bike to a bike shop to assemble, unless you're an experienced mechanic. Every bearing needed to be adjusted, and both wheels needed to be tensioned and trued. This is the way all bikes come from the factory. The weight out of the box is 41 pounds. By replacing some of the steel parts with aluminum we easily lowered to weight to 37 pounds. You could lower the weight further without great expense. The annoying thing is that the Mongoose choose parts that save a dollar, but cost a fortune to replace. - The most important part to replace are the tires. We put on 1.4" Tom Slicks and it felt like a different bike. - The seats and pedals are cheap plastic. No big deal, I always replace the seat and pedals when I buy a bike. - The bike has a threaded headset. A threadless headset would have cost the manufacturer a dollar more, but for the consumer to upgrade to threadless (fork, headset, stem) costs about $200. - It has a freewheel, not a cassette. This increases the stress on the rear axle, increasing the possibility of breaking. And it has a "Mega Range" 7-speed freewheel, which is a 14-24 6-speed plus a 32-tooth cog. 14-32 is a good range, and 7 gears are adequate, but the shift from 24 to 32 teeth causes the pedals to increase in speed suddenly and the stoker loses her feet off the pedals. Replacing a cassette is easy but replacing a freewheel is harder. Luckily I found a 14-28 7-speed cassette on an old bike. - Both wheels have 36 spokes. 48-spoke wheels would have cost just a few dollars more, but for me to upgrade the wheels will cost hundreds of dollars. - The spokes are undertensioned, which will increase spoke breakage, so you need to have a skilled mechanic spend some time tensioning the wheels. This isn't simple, you have to true, tension, and re-true the wheel; go for a ride; true, tension and re-true again, etc. After doing this four times the wheels stayed in true. - The bike only has mounts for rim brakes. Disk brake mounts would have cost another dollar, I guess. The ProMax brakes work acceptably, but if you want to upgrade to better brakes (I put on Avis Single Digit 7's) you'll need brake boosters. Without brake boosters you get squealing and shuddering, because the fork and frame aren't as strong as the brakes. - Both seat tubes are standard 27.2mm, but the captain has a 25.4 seat post with a shim, to fit a 25.4 stoker steam. These non-standard sizes increase your cost to upgrade. - The handlebars, stems, and seat posts are steel. They're functional but heavy, using aluminum would have cost only a little more. - The SRAM 7-speed derailleurs and shifters work perfectly well. - The cranksets are functional, no-name-brand, square taper, and work perfectly well. I wish that there were a more expensive model with this frame and a threadless headset; 8- or 9-speed cassette; 48-spoke wheels; and standard-sized aluminum handlebars, stems, and seatposts. All in all, this is a good bike if you just want to do easy rides in the park with your sweetheart, or if you are a serious cyclist with the skills and time to upgrade parts. If you want a quality tandem but don't have skills or time to work on the bike, go to a good bike shop and get a Burley or Santana. The frame measurements are: - Captain's seat tube 18.75", top tube 21" - Stoker's seat tube 17", top tube 24.5" - Wheelbase 68" - BB height 11" Great Platform for a Low End Tandem Bike by: on: 21-Sep 2008 Looked at lot of $1500 plus tandem bikes before deciding to order the Mongoose. The basic bike platform is a good one. The wheels and gear train are sound. For the ~$350.00 price, there is a lot of accessory room to fill before one would jump up to the next price category. Recommendations: OEM tires and tubes are junk. First thing I did before letting the bike off of the assembly stand was to upgrade to thorn resistant tubes and "no-flat" strips. Put them inside of Contental Town and Country 26"x2.1 tires. Wife and I then rode up the driveway for a short ride and promply decided the handlebars were way too low. Unless one is about 5' tall or Quasimoto porportioned, way too much hunch back involved. Upgraded the front stem to an adjustable one, and the rear bars to 5" lift ones. Should be OK with the formentined modifications. Good starter tandem  by: on: 17-Oct 2007 If you're an avid cyclist, you already know that you can NOT purchase a high quality bike (let alone a tandem) for this price. However, if you looking for a relatively low priced introduction to tandem biking, this item is a pretty good place to start. One tip: Be sure to have a metric Allen wrench set on hand when the bike arrives, or it's a trip to the hardware store. Excellent Value for the money spent  by: on: 14-Jun 2007 My wife wanted us to purchase a tandem bike. I ride quite a bit but my wife does not due to a balance problem. I was not crazy about this but I bought the Mongoose Wanderer. I have been plesantly surprised! The bike was shipped and arrived in perfect condition, no damage and all pieces were received. I assembled in less than an hour but I have a fair amount of experience in working on bikes and I have a repair stand and a good supply of tools. Brakes required some adjustment as did the front and real derailleurs. Park Tools "Blue Book of Bicycle Repair" is very helpful with this. The ride of a tandem is better than I expected. I've only ridden one tandem in the past and it was less than pleasant. We rode in a charity ride recently (appx 18 miles) and the bike worked perfectly! We got quite a few comments and most were very surprised at the low price paid for this bike. The quality is very good for the money spent on the bike. Frame is excellent and total weight is not bad; appx 39 lbs. I did replace the knobby tires with higher-pressure smooth tires. (Much better ride.)Got a different seat for the wife. Seats seem to be more of unisex seats, which is understandable, mine was fine. There are a few other changes I plan to make but nothing big. All in all, I'm very happy with purchase. And most important, my wife really enjoyed the ride! View All ReviewsView All Tandem Bicycles |
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